31–40 of 272 posts
Should "mid-career" software developers still be focused on low-balling themselves with having to do "career growth" things like this fellow, or should they plan their exit strategy to get out of that career trajectory entirely? Assuming mid-career is actually mid-career and not the ageist SV type of mid-career.
I look at that resume and I wonder if it didn't hurt more than it helped; it's form over function, and a bit corny. The fact that he got multiple offers in two months shows how strong the software job market is. I'm several years younger, but a staff-level hardware engineer at a second tier company (top tier being FAANG). I've had an incredibly difficult time jumping companies --- 2 years and counting. Despite being…
It's not what they had, it's what they didn't... unless you're going heavy into research, I would recommend NOT getting the PhD until you hit 45+.
Is it true you still need an "open source coding resume" by mid-career stage? I can understand using that to give you an advantage for entry-level roles, but by "mid-career" shouldn't your experience and achievements in past roles speak for itself? Or do companies still want to see engineers spending their spare time doing unpaid coding? By mid-career, many people have families to support, that they also would like t…
I have never hired anyone, but anecdotally from a team lead dev who has hired a couple dozen people, that is the exact kind of thing they want to avoid.
If someone was a "star" working 90 hours a week in the past but now wants to work 40, they stop being the kind of "star" some companies want.
This is terribly useless for anyone else. I’d go so far as to say it is not, in fact, a data point for anyone. - 65 days is a very very short time to be on the market - the coding interview experience of this applicant and requirements of the companies appears to be far more lax than most experiences in tech hiring - it took place right around the pandemic / unemployment / layoff time period which is a nasty confound…
>- 65 days is a very very short time to be on the market I'm an experienced engineer (10+ years) in a good location. For me, 65 days is absurdly LONG pre-pandemic. Assuming you interview well, you can go from nothing to offer in something like two weeks with most startups. >- the coding interview experience of this applicant and requirements of the companies appears to be far more lax than most experiences in tech hi…
Depends a lot on the type of company. I've had startups go from initial contact to offer in about 3 business days. OTOH is Google - I've heard my first hiring process there (5 weeks) was on the short side, and it's not unusual to be held up for 6 months with them.
How on earth do people have these experiences? I have to submit multiple hundreds of applications to get one interview. Throwaway because it could turn into multiple thousands if that fact is linked to my identity.
And that was primarily with blind online applications.
If you would like a hand or just want someone to read over your resume and see, my email is 13mdg5@queensu.ca. Would be happy to help.
Is it true you still need an "open source coding resume" by mid-career stage? I can understand using that to give you an advantage for entry-level roles, but by "mid-career" shouldn't your experience and achievements in past roles speak for itself? Or do companies still want to see engineers spending their spare time doing unpaid coding? By mid-career, many people have families to support, that they also would like t…
Who knows? Every company wants something different and most of them seem reluctant to provide that information up front, inexplicably. Maybe lead with “we expect to go over some of your code with you” or “we’ll be doing 2 hours of whiteboarding, but nothing above leetcode easy” or whatever. Every interview (outside certain major companies which are quite up-front about what they want) is a mystery until they spring it on you. Wish they’d fucking settle on one thing. Let’s all do open-source (would mean everyone would have to stop forbidding it, of course) or even all do leetcode. The guessing game interviews and scattershot prep requirements are draining and a waste of everyone’s time.
I look at that resume and I wonder if it didn't hurt more than it helped; it's form over function, and a bit corny. The fact that he got multiple offers in two months shows how strong the software job market is. I'm several years younger, but a staff-level hardware engineer at a second tier company (top tier being FAANG). I've had an incredibly difficult time jumping companies --- 2 years and counting. Despite being…
> I wish I knew what the successful candidates had that I didn't It's not what they had, it's what they didn't... unless you're going heavy into research, I would recommend NOT getting the PhD until you hit 45+.
How on earth do people have these experiences? I have to submit multiple hundreds of applications to get one interview. Throwaway because it could turn into multiple thousands if that fact is linked to my identity.
For reference, I have also been internally referred in multiple companies including 3 FAANG style companies. Absolutely crickets on that front.
What woke me up was when I got rejected after the recruiter call with SurveyMonkey. That was whenI realized my pre-pandemic /recession attitude wouldn't hold any more and I had to show interest / motivation / better prepared at every stage and not just when the tech rounds rolled around. Since then I have been able to make progress with the few callbacks that I am getting now.
Hope that helps.
How on earth do people have these experiences? I have to submit multiple hundreds of applications to get one interview. Throwaway because it could turn into multiple thousands if that fact is linked to my identity.
If you're looking for advice, it really depends on where you are in your career.
Should "mid-career" software developers still be focused on low-balling themselves with having to do "career growth" things like this fellow, or should they plan their exit strategy to get out of that career trajectory entirely? Assuming mid-career is actually mid-career and not the ageist SV type of mid-career.
The latter. Build up cash and invest in a career path that values experience.
What's safe from being Ubered out of existence?